Friends and family bid farewell to fallen Marine

By RAY REYES
rreyes@hernandotoday.com


MASARYKTOWN – Those who knew him described him as courageous and well-liked, daring and kind.

Those who knew Marine Sgt. Lea Mills said he was a great man and would accomplish great things.

Mills chose to defend his country and was killed by a roadside bomb April 28 while on patrol with his unit in the Anbar province of Iraq.

His family and close friends said goodbye to the 21-year-old Marine Saturday at a funeral in Ocean Springs, Miss.

County residents who remember the 2002 Hernando High School graduate and wish to honor him, fallen soldiers and active military personnel will get to do so with memorial events this Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, May 12, County Commissioner Chairwoman Diane Rowden has organized a caravan of school buses to travel along Fort Dade and Howell avenues and stop at Hernando High. Participants are asked to station themselves at 1:40 p.m. at those intersections and wear patriotic attire.

A second memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 13 at First United Methodist Church, 109 S. Broad St., Brooksville.

U.S. Army specialist David Griffith, who went to high school with Mills, said the Marine had “the drive to do something great.”

“He was one of those people who you would expect to see at our 10-year reunion and (he’d) be doing phenomenal things,” Griffith wrote in an e-mail from South Korea, where the specialist is currently stationed.

“He was well-liked among his peers. He was just that kind of guy.”

Masaryktown resident Debbie Neilson, whose son, Doug, was friends with Mills since childhood, said Mills was passionate about standing up for what he felt was right and tried to make a difference in the world.

During the Crucible — the Marine Corps’ final, grueling boot camp test — one of Mills’ friends fell behind during the march, said Neilson. Mills picked up his friend and helped him to the finish line, Neilson said.

“That was how extraordinary he was,” Neilson said.

Hours after the story on Mills’ death was posted on TBO.com April 28, those who knew him posted comments on the Web site.

“A good friend in high school and a great man to the world,” wrote Brooke Campbell of Brooksville. “Lea, you’ll be missed by everyone you know.”

Neilson said Lea Mills’ mother, Dee, has requested families to e-mail photographs of loved ones in the military to a special page on www.masaryktownnews.com.

Pictures can also be sent to the Masaryktown post office, P.O. Box 9000, Masaryktown, FL 34604.

A trust fund has also been established in Lea Mills’ name. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Lea’s Prayers and Postage, Hernando County Bank, P.O. Box 10289 South Broad St., Brooksville, FL, 34603.

Donations can also be sent to the Masaryktown post office box.

Proceeds will fund postage for packages and letters sent to troops overseas, said Neilson.